4. Aregbesola’s Deft Politicking
The PDP went into the election in bad shape ─ an ironic mirror of what happened to APC in Ekiti State. Former Osun State governor, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, left PDP for APC in the heat of the party’s primaries, complaining about the conduct of other PDP aspirants. Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, secretary to the state government when Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola was governor, also left the party and went to the Labour Party, whose flag he eventually flew in the election. Oyinlola, TheCable learnt, had suggested to the PDP that Akinbade was the man to beat Aregbesola. But Omisore got the ticket and Akinbade defected in protest.
However, it was not enough that the party to be fractured. Aregbesola had to move deftly to cash in on this. He got Adeleke to team up with his campaign ─ a masterstroke, given that the man called “Serunbawon” is a very popular politician in Ede, one of the big political constituencies in the state. Next, Aregbesola got the endorsement of the power brokers in Iwo, where the Labour candidate comes from. It was another big score for him. And then, Oyinlola, the erstwhile national secretary of the PDP and former governor of the state, joined APC a few days to the election. Even though Oyinlola did not win his ward in Okuku, it was a PR set-back for the PDP, especially after President Goodluck Jonathan had met with Oyinlola in trying to get him to campaign for Omisore.
